All eyes have been on Liverpool ONE in recent months as new stores have opened their doors and pop up shops have attracted shoppers from across the city and beyond. The likes of building last August, along with the new entertainment complex Gravity Max. In February, the White Store opened on Peter's Lane, while of its Liverpool ONE store.
But sitting in the shadows is the city's other shopping centre - - which opened its doors in 2006 before Liverpool ONE even existed. The Metquarter is based on the site of the Old Post Office between Victoria Street and Whitechapel. When the shopping centre first opened at a cost of £75m it was marketed as a "designer shopping centre" that was home to the likes of Armani, Gieves and Hawkes, Whistles and the only standalone Mac make-up store in the country.
Today many of the bigger brands have been replaced by local, independent businesses, and joined by the likes of Liverpool Media Academy, the Everyman Cinema and the GPO food market on the first floor. But with a number of shops having closed their doors and it appears the Metquarter is at the start of a new chapter in its history. We headed down to meet the faces behind the businesses and find out what the shopping centre needs to thrive on an ever-changing high street.
Gill O'Neil opened Fairytale Endings in the Metquarter three days before the second coronavirus lockdown in October 2020. The shop sells occasion wear for everything from proms to christenings, communion and weddings. In F.